Increase in local hospital mistakes mirrors numbers statewide

Thursday

Aug 21, 2014 at 7:09 PMAug 21, 2014 at 7:14 PM

Massachusetts tracked 753 serious reportable events at acute-care hospitals statewide last year compared to 444 in 2012. Health officials say that might be because of a change that broadened the types of errors and mistakes that get counted.

Staff Reporter

BROCKTON – The number of potentially dangerous medical errors at Brockton hospitals increased in 2013, mirroring a 70 percent jump over the previous year statewide, according to data from the state Department of Public Health.

The department tracked 753 “serious reportable events” at 74 acute-care hospitals statewide last year compared to 444 in 2012.

Health officials say that might be because of a change that broadened the types of errors and mistakes that get counted.

Brockton Hospital and Good Samaritan Medical Center saw an uptick in reported errors last year, reflecting the experience of other hospitals on the South Shore:

At Brockton Hospital, part of Signature Healthcare, there were 14 countable errors in 2013, up from 10 in 2012. Six of the 2013 errors were entered under the category “Serious injury or death after a fall.” Four fell under the category “Contaminated drugs, device or biologics.”

At Good Samaritan Medical Center, part of Steward Health Care, there were 14 countable errors in 2013, up from four in 2012. Six of the 2013 errors were entered under the category “Stage 3, stage 4 or unstageable pressure ulcer.” Three fell under the category “Wrong body part, side or site surgery or procedure.”

At South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, there were six countable errors in 2013, down from eight in 2012.

At Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center-Plymouth, formerly Jordan Hospital, there were 12 errors, down from 13 the previous year.

Types of medical mistakes counted in the statewide tally include serious injury or death after a patient falls, operating on the wrong body part, leaving a foreign object in a patient’s body, medication errors, suicides and burns.

The increase in reported incidents statewide may be attributed in part to a change in the way the events are defined and the streamlined process in which they are reported, said Dr. Madeleine Biondolillo, associate commissioner of DPH.

“The adoption of new national quality definitions led to an expansion of the number and types of events that must be reported, which resulted in a marked rise in reporting in several existing categories, particularly falls and pressure ulcers,” she said in a statement. “DPH also increased outreach to facilities to emphasize reporting as an important part of patient safety and quality improvement.”

Biondolillo said the department expects to see the number of reported events rise in 2014 “as facilities become increasingly efficient in evaluation and reporting.”

Rachel Labas, a spokeswoman for Brockton Hospital, said the hospital attributes its year-over-year increase to the broadening of categories, but also to the hospital’s “continuous improvement in identifying unexpected patient-care events and our commitment to developing strategies to prevent these events from occurring again.”

A spokeswoman for Good Samaritan did not respond to requests for comment.

Christian Schiavone of the Patriot Ledger and Kendall of HatchMetroWest Daily News contributed to this report.

Joseph Markman may be reached at jmarkman@enterprisenews.com or follow on Twitter @JMMarkman–ENT.